Publications 1992-2007
All of my articles on the rectangular land surveys have been published in the Minnesota Surveyor, the official publication of the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors. The first 40, published between 1992 and 2007, were edited and republished by the Society in 2010, "A Striking Triumph of Geometry over Physical Geography: Vignettes of the Public Land Surveys." The book, which may be obtained from the Society, contains a CD in lieu of an index. All of the chapters in the book, listed below, can also be found in the Minnesota Surveyor.
Chapter 1. The Annual Reports of the Surveyors General
Chapter 2. Sources for the History of the Public Land Surveys: A Checklist of Federal Government Documents
Chapter 3. Principal Meridians and Baselines in the Old Northwest Territory
Chapter 4. The Administration of the Public Land Surveys in the Old Northwest Territory
Chapter 5. The Public Land Surveys in Minnesota Territory, 1847-1852
Chapter 6. The Public Land Surveys in Minnesota Territory, 1853-1857
Chapter 7. County Boundaries in Minnesota Territory
Chapter 8. A Preliminary Bibliography of Documents Relating the Public Land Surveys of Minnesota Territory, Located at the Iowa State Historical Library
Chapter 9. The Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1857-1860
Chapter 10. Letters sent by Surveyor General Charles L. Emerson, 1857
Chapter 11. Comments on the Instructions to Deputy Surveyors in Minnesota, 1847-1860
Chapter 12. The Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1861-1865
Chapter 13. George B. Wright, Deputy Surveyor, 1862-1865
Chapter 14. George B. Wright, Deputy Surveyor, 1866-1869
Chapter 15. Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1865-1874
Chapter 16. Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1875-1879 Part I
Chapter 17. Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1875-1879 Part II
Chapter 18. The Public Land Surveys under Jacob H. Stewart, 1879-1882
Chapter 19. The Field Notes of Deputy Surveyors in Minnesota before 1855. 1. Qualitative Information
Chapter 20. The Public Land Surveys under Martin Chandler, 1883-1886. Part 1
Chapter 21. The Public Land Surveys under Martin Chandler, 1883-1886. Part 2
Chapter 22. The Public Land Surveys under John F. Norrish, 1887-1890
Chapter 23. The Public Land Surveys in Minnesota, 1891-1908
Chapter 24. A Context for the Public Land Surveys
Chapter 25. A Geographical Framework for Land Alienation in Minnesota
Chapter 26. The Deposit Surveys
Chapter 27. Deposit Surveys in Minnesota, 1881-1884
Chapter 28. Cartographic Records of the Public Land Surveys in Minnesota
Chapter 29. Public Land Survey Monuments in Minnesota
Chapter 30. The Indian Claims Commission and the Public Land Survey in Minnesota
Chapter 31. The Origins of the Minnesota Surveying District
Chapter 32. The Public Land Surveys and the Land Act of 1796
Chapter 33. Minnesota’s Boundary Line: Part 1. Legal description
Chapter 34. George B. Sargent and the Minnesota-Iowa Boundary Line
Chapter 35. The Field Notes of the Deputies and the Historic Plant Cover of Minnesota
Chapter 36. A Geography of the Public Land Surveys in Minnesota Territory, 1853
Chapter 37. An Introduction to Nicollet’s Map
Chapter 38. Comments on the Digital Collection of the Original Public Land Survey Plat (Maps) of Minnesota
Chapter 39. The Evolution of Simplicity
Chapter 40. A Preliminary Typology of Instruction for Surveying the Public Lands in Minnesota
More recent publications, 2007 and continuing, can be found on the MSPS web site (Click on Resources - Archives - Minnesota Surveyor)